Back in July, Rossi Morreale – host of the American Airgunner television series – attended the 2016 Crosman All American Field Target Competition Hard Air Magazine Publisher, Stephen Archer was there too and talked to Rossi. It went like this…
Hard Air Magazine: Rossi, it was great to see you again at the Crosman All American Field Target Competition in beautiful Up-State New York! You were there shooting Field Target and also shooting footage for your American Airgunner TV shows.
Rossi Morreale: Yep, that was me! It was great to see you there as well. It was my first of a few competitions this year and it was a lot of fun to be out there with all my fellow airgunners. I’ll be at the Pyramyd Air Cup in September and Extreme Benchrest in October, too.
Hard Air Magazine: We got lucky with the weather, right?
Rossi Morreale: I guess that depends on what you consider lucky. The rains never really came, But there was very strong, gusty wind on the open field course on Saturday. That made things very challenging for all the competitor – ESPECIALLY the new guys – like myself.
But you wouldn’t know… you were “LUCKY” to be on the Woods course that day, so you got it easy!
Hard Air Magazine: Yes, wasn’t it a great FT course with the two different halves – wooded and open field – for the competition?
Rossi Morreale: You bet! I loved the open field shoot, but the Woods course was awesome. Sean McDaniel, the Match Director, went through a huge amount of effort to create the new Woods lanes and it was well worth it. It made for such and interesting and diverse course with everything you would want out of a FT match. Very challenging, but extremely fun at the same time.
Hard Air Magazine: You told me that you were trying a new Field Target discipline (Open) that you’ve not tried before. How did it work out?
Rossi Morreale: Yeah, I’ve shot Hunter PCP before and was planning on shooting that until the day before. Brad Bonar at Hawke Optics sent me a beautiful scope and Tyler Patner pointed out that I was not utilizing my tools. So, with Tyler’s help, I gave open a try. But the new Open discipline was really challenging. Although I did finish in the top 10 so not too bad!
This is me with Tyler at the shoot. Tyler’s a great guy!
Hard Air Magazine: What was the biggest difference you found in shooting Open FT?
Rossi Morreale: It’s completely different. The sitting position in itself is a challenge. Trying to get settled and still enough to make those shots, especially those ones waaaay up in the trees. It’s way tougher than sitting on a chair with sticks. I’m still figuring out how to use the clicks and things on my scope. Right now I just hold over where ever I need to be…so still have some kinks to work out. But it’s FUN!
Hard Air Magazine: What gun and scope were you using this time?
Rossi Morreale: It was a Walther LG300 Dominator. Great gun; looks great and feels good too. It’s a little older than some, but I really like it. Hawke sent me an AIRMAX 30 SF 8-32×50 AMX IR scope to put on it. That was nice, but now I’ve got the new SIDEWINDER ED 10-50X60 TMX, so I’m really looking forward to using that in the future.
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Hard Air Magazine: So had you shot this combo much before the CAAFT shoot, or was this your first time?
Rossi Morreale: First time – as usual. I’m better out of the box. and lad a LOAD OF FUN!
Hard Air Magazine:I know that you tried the Benjamin Pioneer Airbow for the First time at the shoot. What did you think of it?
Rossi Morreale: WOW! It’s awesome…no doubt about it! I have NO IDEA what I’d do with it, but I want one!!! Got a full rundown of how it works from Crosman’s Product Manager Jesse Caster. It’s very easy to use and has a TON of power. That’s Jesse and me below with the Airbow.
Hard Air Magazine: Of course, you were there filming for American Airgunner. Can you tell us when we’re likely to see the footage?
Rossi Morreale: A lot of what we are shooting right now is my journey into the world of airgun competitions. We’re trying to show the newbies out there how it all works and what it takes to be competitive. Most of this stuff will show up on the American Airgunner YouTube page where we are doing some new and interesting stuff. Make sure to check it out right here!
Hard Air Magazine: Of course there are other events at the CAAFTC, not just Field Target. Did you shoot any of these?
Rossi Morreale: Well OF COURSE I did!! I couldn’t resist the Pyramyd Gunslynger, where I got my tail kicked by Jeff Paddock. He eventually got third, losing to Bill Rabbitt who won.
Then there’s the “Quigley Bucket Challenge” competition which I won!! The target’s a “bucket” measuring 1.75-inches at 55 yards range. Everyone uses the same Crosman Challenger 10-meter rifle (6.5 Ft/Lb limit) with peep sights. Best-of-5 shots wins. I hit it twice. No kidding, here’s the score sheet…
I always seem to do well in the “random” events. So overall, it was a VERY productive and FUN weekend!
Hard Air Magazine: Great result with the Quigley win! I was only able to shoot the first day of the FT competition because of other travel plans. And my score’s best forgotten, anyway. But how did you score in the competition?
Rossi Morreale: It wasn’t great. I like to win things. I don’t care how hard it is or how long I’ve been doing it…I expect to be better than I was. I scored a 35 on the first day and a 30 on the second. A total of 65 out of 120. I know I’m a beginner, but that isn’t going to cut it. I need to practice more and perform better.
Hard Air Magazine: Rossi, you’re absolutely right about needing to practice. That’s always my problem – make that excuse!
Thanks for giving us your report on the 2016 Crosman All American Field Target Competition! I look forward to seeing you again soon at the Pyramyd Air Cup in the near future.
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